"I hate everyone." "Except me, right?" "No, especially you." ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ It's funny, isn't it? That when the whole world decides to become infected with a brutal and fatal virus, the real monsters are the ones still alive? Blake Finnegan lost most of his life before the apocalypse anyway. So for him, it's no problem. But can a group of four just as tormented teenagers change his perspective? ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ "Genies grant three." "I'll take three." I shrug. "Two." He bargains. "Three." I say sterner. "One." He couldn't look any more relaxed. I almost take up his earlier offer on two. Almost. I'm still too stubborn. "Five." I cross my own arms, covered in dirt. "I-" He stutters, "You're going backwards."

After escaping a stalled elevator into a zombie apocalypse, Emily must learn how to trust people again or risk losing everything in this terrifying world. ***** For Emily, every day of the last two years have been a blur. She keeps her head down, takes her college courses online, and only goes out to work at her mandatory internship. But all that changes on the day the office elevator breaks down, leaving her trapped when the screams begin. And when the doors finally open, revealing a dystopian world ruined by bloody teeth and disease, Emily is launched into a terrifying run for her life, caught between the strangers she's not sure she can trust and the man-eating monsters that hunger for her flesh. Now she must learn not only how to survive in this new and dangerous world, but also how to overcome her own inner demons before they cost her something more precious than her life. [[Wattys' Shortlist]] [[Promoted by AMC]] Content and/or Trigger Warning: The story contains some gore, violence, strong language, and dark themes. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]